Asia urged to rethink growth policies amid crisis

An Indonesian participant displays a macro economic indicator on a screen during the 42nd annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in Nusa Dua, a resort island of Bali, Indonesia, Saturday, May 2, 2009. Indonesia is hosting the ADB's meeting where more than 3,500 participants will discuss ways to effectively address poverty and to ensure sustainable economic growth in the region. (AP Photo/Firdia Lisnawati)
— AP

An Indonesian participant displays a macro economic indicator on a screen during the 42nd annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in Nusa Dua, a resort island of Bali, Indonesia, Saturday, May 2, 2009. Indonesia is hosting the ADB's meeting where more than 3,500 participants will discuss ways to effectively address poverty and to ensure sustainable economic growth in the region. (AP Photo/Firdia Lisnawati)
/ AP

Activists also faulted the bank for pressing ahead with plans to hold next year's annual meeting in Uzbekistan, an authoritarian central Asian nation.

Human rights advocates and journalists critical of Uzbek President Islam Karimov's government have been subjected to arbitrary arrest, politically motivated prosecution, forced psychiatric treatment and physical attack, according to a 2008 U.S. Department of State report.

ADB Managing Director-General Rajat Nag said he was "delighted" that Uzbekistan had offered to host the 2010 meeting. The bank wants activist groups to participate but the host nation has the final say, he said.

The ADB announced Saturday that it will boost lending to the region's poorest nations by more than $10 billion over two years, though it is widely acknowledged this is not enough to make up for the shortfall created by the freezing up of private investment.

The announcement came just days after the bank's 67 member countries approved a tripling of the ADB's capital to $165 billion, expanding its ability to finance infrastructure and other projects aimed at reducing poverty in partnership with the private sector.

"We expect the bank to rapidly and significantly step up lending in key areas," said Indian economic affairs secretary Ashok Chawla.

But activist organizations have not welcomed the bank's bigger firepower, saying ADB-funded projects often harm the very people they aim to help.

Activists highlighted an ADB-backed dam and hydroelectric power scheme in the West Seti region of Nepal, saying it could displace 20,000 people and lead to conflict in resettlement areas that are already heavily populated.